Shakespeare’s sonnets, published in 1609, contain some of the most complex and beautiful explorations of life and love, all contained within the 14-line form. Their jewel-like quality is matched by contemporary lute music from the instrument’s golden age. John Dowland was England’s greatest lute composer, and was compared to Shakespeare at the time. Anthony Holborne was a gentleman courtier popular for his charming dances, while Philip Rosseter was a court lutenist and manager of one of the companies of child actors in Jacobean London.

Jack Edwards is a distinguished actor and director, specialising in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He is Artistic Director of Opera Restor’d and has appeared many times at the Suffolk Villages Festival. Fred Jacobs is one of the most prominent lutenists in the Netherlands, and has also appeared many times at the Festival, notably in song recitals with Philippa Hyde.